


That's Not In The Script

by skzpresso



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: All terms will be defined, Alternate Universe - High School, Attempt at Humor, Blood and bruises mentioned, Childhood Friends, Enemies to Lovers, Fighting, M/M, Making Out, Minor Violence, Miscommunication, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rated for language mainly, Save Changbin, Sexuality Crisis, Theatre, other characters not listed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:08:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 18,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25256674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skzpresso/pseuds/skzpresso
Summary: Seo Changbin was the director of this semester's student-written show. His assistant director and best friend, Han Jisung, tried to keep him sane after realizing how difficult this show was going to be.Lee Minho and Kim Seungmin were the two leads who truly hated each other, and no one knew why except for the two themselves.Trouble ensues when they can't get along off stage long enough to get anything productive done.Changbin does what he feels is necessary. Locks them in a room together until they figure it out.What happens next? Who the hell knows.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Hwang Hyunjin, Kim Seungmin/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 70
Kudos: 285
Collections: our divorced couple °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°





	1. Really?

**Author's Note:**

> Well hello there, welcome to my first chaptered fic! To be honest, there's not an update schedule in mind. I won't let this suddenly fizzle out with no warning though. I'll update with a note explaining the wait or something of that nature. 
> 
> I don't think this is going to be a long fic either, but I'm hoping this will be around 5-7 chapters? It could be shorter or longer but that is the goal. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "From all of their understanding though, they had no clue Minho and Seungmin knew each other. 
> 
> “Place your bets, why do you think those two hate each other?” Jisung proposed, opening up the notes app on his phone to record their answers."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter introduces all the main characters and gives you a feel for what the story will be like moving forward! i don't think there's anything in this particular chapter that needs any warning, so continue on~

“Why? Why me? Why did I want to be the director? I can’t take it anymore.” Changbin groaned as he dropped his head onto the edge of the stage. His prompt book was already a mess of notes and taped in additions. He knew it would only get more chaotic. He already had a headache brewing and he knew that it was just the start.

Changbin had run for the director’s position and won the vote of the class. The teacher was just a supervisor, they ran their own shows for the most part. 

This show was very important to the whole crew, considering it was written by everyone. The first quarter of the semester was spent writing, scrapping, and editing scenes after they figured out a plot and some characters. Auditions weren’t really a thing, each of the now officially casted members had taken to a character as they were doing read-throughs of the script to ensure it flowed well.

It was a blessing and a curse.

His two leads _hated_ each other.

“It’s been twenty minutes with the cast on stage for the first _actual_ rehearsal, Changbin.” His assistant director, Jisung said as he swiveled around in his chair. He was already slightly immune to Changbin’s inevitable meltdowns due to stress, so he was the calm one in this situation. 

Jisung had a much better idea of using a _binder_ for his prompt book instead of a composition book. He was much more organized with his materials. To say the least, Jisung was crafty. Last semester he was the head of the set crew. Leading with an iron fist, the final product was one he was insanely proud of.

Since they wrote their own play, they had to print off hundreds and _hundreds_ of pages worth of scripts so every student had a copy. Even techies needed a copy to note the scene changes.

“Oh, fuck off, Jisung. I’m gonna shove the prompt book up their asses if they don’t knock off the arguing.” Changbin was too young to be so stressed already. 

“Asking them to stop arguing is like asking them to stop breathing.” Jisung snickered loudly as Changbin only grunted in response. 

“You need to enter in from stage left, not stage right! I’m coming from stage right.” Minho shouted in frustration. 

Lee Minho, their first main lead. He was playing the main character who was dealing with feeling guilty for all the wrong things he had done over his lifetime. Such remorse leads to the ‘angel on his shoulder’ to take a physical form and help him gain closure by helping him fix his mistakes. However, no one else could see him. It sounds like a serious play, but they all agreed on making it a comedy. The script turned out beautifully in the teacher’s opinion.

“I’m your conscious pretty much. Of _course,_ I’d enter in from the same side as you. I am _you!_ ” Seungmin was slowly losing his cool as he had to keep arguing with Minho. 

Kim Seungmin. The ‘angel’ guiding Minho’s character to closure. The character was rather sarcastic but also empathetic.

“No-” Minho was about to launch into another rant.

“Top of the scene, full projection, please. You two argue loud enough I know you can be heard in the back of the auditorium. I’ve already got Hyunjin back there.” Changbin spoke over the both of them, wanting to get some rehearsal in today while the crews were planning. 

Hyunjin was the stage manager. He oversees props, set, costume, and tech crews. He also deals with the curtains during shows. All the crew heads came to him with plans and updates during their weekly meetings. If Hyunjin notices anything weird, he brings it to Jisung and Changbin’s attention. The three have worked well together in the past _as_ crew heads. These positions were major promotions for them.

They were all voted on by the class, which only boosted their confidence and will to make this show great.

“And _don’t_ worry about the blocking yet. That’s an argument for me and Jisung to have later, not you two. Start when Jisung gives you the cue.” Changbin adds on before one of them can start arguing yet again.

They hear backstage start to settle down when Jisung shouts _Lights up!_

And what really pisses Changbin off the most, is that Seungmin and Minho have the perfect stage dynamic. The two work seamlessly together, able to bounce off each other’s energy and tone. They’re the best duo in the class when it comes to stage chemistry. 

“Ok, that was good. Any concerns?” Changbin asked, making a mental note to take into account their natural gestures for the blocking, they fit well. 

“As long as Seungmin remembers his lines and doesn’t fuck me up, we’ll be fine.” Minho shut his prompt book with a sharp snap, Changbin could see Seungmin rolling his eyes. 

It was a little creepy at how much of the whites he could see. 

“I’ve not been the reason for your fuck ups, Lee. You do that all on your own.” 

If Changbin didn’t know better, he would assume both of them are assholes. However, they’re sweethearts on their own. Minho is quiet but attentive, noting the small details and remembering things about people easily. Seungmin was bright and vivacious, a little quirky but that was part of his charm. 

But together? The two look like they would willingly go to fisticuffs with the other. Minho had a cocky attitude when next to Seungmin, constantly wanting a reaction from the younger.

He would _always_ bite back. Seungmin was good with words, he could say the bare minimum and manage to crawl under Minho’s skin more than anyone else could.

It confused Changbin but he didn’t know how to help their relationship out yet, so he needs to figure out a plan fast.

“It’s the first day on stage. If you two don’t get it together, I’ll have no problem recasting your parts and putting you as techies. I’ll take you off stage _completely_.” Changbin threatened. Jisung turned to his with a slightly panicked look, the pen between his teeth looking like it had seen better days. 

“You wouldn’t do that. There are so many lines, and I’ve already got most of them memorized. That’s just mean to the crew.” Seungmin boasted a bit, getting on Minho’s nerves. 

They had been running lines for about four days now, just sitting in a massive circle on the stage and reading through the script. It was a way for them to get more familiar with the lines before working with the directors. It’s hard to read the prompt book, learn the blocking, play the part, and take feedback all at once.

“Don’t even lie, I saw you looking at your script more often than not in our scene.” Minho scoffed, pointing his book at Seungmin. Changbin could see a few heads peek from around the curtains from the left-wing. Everyone knew there was an ongoing drama between the two. If they were later in the semester, Changbin would’ve told them to get back to work. But nothing has been set in stone yet.

“Why were you watching me so hard?” Seungmin’s lip curled up in distaste. The air was thick between them. “Am I that irresistible?”

“As if, you’re nothing special to see.” Minho shot back, his glare even sharper than usual. 

“And you think you are?” Seungmin smirked, knowing he pushed all of Minho’s buttons. 

The two began to move in towards each other; Changbin wanted to curl up and cry. He was tired of this nonsense. 

“Fine. You two want to be like this?” Changbin whispered to himself as he stood up, inwardly sighing before he started. “Line test, tomorrow. Entire first scene. Pages one through twelve.” Changbin could hear panicked whispers coming from the wings. It was a cruel test meant only for the leads.

“All other cast members are exempt from the test and able to read their script during the scene.” 

“Thank _fuck_.” Was said rather loudly from the workspace they had for the set and props. 

“Goddamnit, Chan! Stop cussing so fucking loud!” 

“Do you _hear_ yourself, Felix?”

Chan and Felix, set and props crew heads respectively. They constantly bicker over how the two crews need to communicate, but it was in good nature. The two were close friends outside the auditorium, never letting anything get personal.

Felix was always a bit soft-hearted. It was easy to get into his head if you said the wrong things, but Chan was the support he needed. Felix also kept Chan from running himself into the ground with work. The older typically refused to sleep until a project was done, and it didn’t matter how long that took. He would even miss meals sometimes, much to Felix’s displeasure. So Chan and Felix became a package deal, you get one and you surely get the other. Hence why they decided to go for crew heads together.

“That’s unfair!” Minho almost yelled. “They get an exemption but we don’t?”

“You two are our _leads._ You _can’t_ get these lines wrong.” Jisung was pinching the bridge of his nose, obviously irritated. Jisung had enough patience for everyone in the class. Getting him that irritated is a hard thing to do. “What good is a show if our leads are shit? You two _know_ how to act, so you can learn the lines.”

“Think of it this way. You two nail this line test with a 90% or higher, you keep your parts. Anything less, I tell Chan and Felix to start learning your lines. You’re not ruining the good vibe we work to have in here. Not everyone is best of friends, but you two cause unnecessary tension.” Changbin said, flipping through the first twelve pages to make sure there were _plenty_ of lines for them to learn. 

“Oh, Woah, wait. I didn’t want to be on stage. We already decided on techies.” Felix appeared after shoving one of the ancient curtains out of his way. There was a major fog of dust after that, Felix coughing and waving his hands in front of his face. “Make Hyunjin do it!” 

“There’s no way in _hell_ that me and Chan would work well together as these characters. I’d only do this with Jisung.” Hyunjin admitted from where he was still seated in the back. Changbin watched Jisung turn a dark red, lowering his head to hide a smile. 

“Yeah, I gotta agree with Lix and Hyunjin. I get your point here, Bin, but I don’t see myself able to keep up with this kind of part.” Chan chimed in. He was one of the older students, held back a grade in elementary school for absences. Chan had a bit of a pull, despite not being the director. The cast and crew listened to him well, even the three that _technically_ oversee him listen to his advice.

“Ok, I hear you. It’ll be Hyunjin and Jisung I tell to start learning lines, then.” Jisung choked on the water he was drinking, trying not to let it spill down the front of his shirt. 

“I’m the assistant director? That’s gonna put so much stress on you with no A.D and no stage manager.” Jisung’s eyes were wide with concern. The younger was always worried about Changbin.

“I know, Ji. It’ll be less stressful that way than dealing with _fighting_ every day.” Changbin cut at the two standing dejectedly on the stage. They know Changbin was serious about his criteria. “Ok, now that that’s out of the way, let’s move on. You all can get back to your crews.” 

Seungmin and Minho continued for the rest of the class in the same fashion. Beautiful stage work, and obsolete camaraderie.

\- - -

“I’m gonna die young, Ji.” Changbin had his head resting on the table in front of him. 

The two decided to go out for a late lunch after school to talk about the show a bit, Hyunjin was running late. However, Jisung tagged along with Changbin considering he doesn’t drive.

“How can those two fight so much? I don’t get it.” He straightened up and felt his back cracking, Changbin was pretty sure Jisung could hear it. 

“Your guess is as good as mine. I didn’t even know those two _knew_ each other.” Jisung pulled more of the cheese fries onto his plate, trying to be patient while they waited for Hyunjin to arrive.

“I didn’t either. There’s gotta be bad blood between them or something.” Changbin grumbled almost incoherently around a mouthful of fries. He and Jisung never had the best manners when it was just the two of them. 

“I hate traffic. I hate those _fucking_ trucks with the ridiculously large tires. I hate old people. I just hate it all.” Hyunjin griped as he slid into the booth next to Jisung, leaving no space between the two of them. Jisung swallowed hard as he tried to move over a bit, but Hyunjin leaned to rest his head on the smaller’s shoulder.

“Explain the _I hate old people_ because that sounds hilarious,” Changbin said and shoved a menu over to Hyunjin after he ordered his drink. The waitress seemed to be doing her best to flirt with Hyunjin. Changbin thinks once she saw Jisung glaring at her is when she backed off without another word.

“I was at the gas station, right? I had to fill up my car since I didn’t do it yesterday. The lady at the register was old, like close to century-old I think.” Hyunjin emphasized before popping a few fries in his mouth. 

“She’s like _‘Oh, no, honey. Take out that lip ring, the lord will forgive you.’_ ” He imitated in a frail, nasally, and shaky voice. Jisung was doing his best to hold back laughter. Hyunjin normally had a few piercings visible. However, he had put clear plugs in his nose and earlobe piercings a few weeks ago for some job interview, and only replaced his lip ring recently. So it made sense she only commented on that one.

“Like, _bitch._ I came to fill up my car not to be saved or some shit. Damn, imagine if she knew I was gay.” 

Jisung spluttered out what seemed to be nervous laughter and a suppressed choke. Hyunjin turned his attention to Jisung to check if he were ok, rubbing his back gently. Jisung’s eyes flickered about, mainly settling on Changbin who looked on in amused silence. 

This was something they didn’t _know._ Which thrilled Jisung, but also terrified him if Changbin guessed correctly. Jisung had been harboring a massive crush on Hyunjin for ages, almost as long as Changbin knew Jisung. Jisung was never sure if Hyunjin was straight or not, so he didn’t try. Knowing that Hyunjin strictly liked guys, Changbin knew Jisung would find some confidence to start flirting with him soon. 

He at least hoped. Changbin loved Jisung dearly, but there was only so much pining he could take. 

“Oh yeah, I talked to Seungmin on my way over here,” Hyunjin announced. “I was gonna ask him about his beef with Minho, but our call got cut short. I honestly don’t know if he would’ve told me anything though. It seems like a weird topic.”

Hyunjin and Seungmin were neighbors, friends since Seungmin moved in around four years ago. Hyunjin immediately took to him and wanted to make sure he felt welcome in the school. 

From all of their understanding though, they had no clue Minho and Seungmin knew each other. 

“Place your bets, why do you think those two hate each other?” Jisung proposed, opening up the notes app on his phone to record their answers. He was always finicky when keeping up with bets, holding people to their word was part of the fun.

“I think they’re jealous of each other. Seungmin’s top of the class, but Minho is one of the most well-rounded students. Clubs, sports, extra-curricular things, good grades, the whole ten yards.” Hyunjin said before moving the appetizer out of the way so they could have a place for their main meal. 

“I think they knew each other a while back. Like, Seungmin moved here four years back. Minho moved here like two years ago? Was he here when we were freshmen?” Jisung tried to think back, his face scrunching up in concentration. 

“I don’t think so. It had to be our sophomore year because that’s when Felix started talking about that dancer dude that he shared homeroom with. And we _know_ no one else dances in that group.” Hyunjin hoped that helped Jisung enough.

“What about you, Bin?” Jisung had his phone ready in his hands. 

“I think they wanna fuck.” Hyunjin dropped his fork and knife, having to watch them tumble to the floor. Jisung didn’t immediately start typing, he froze in his spot. Hyunjin timidly waved over a waiter to ask for a new set of silverware.

“No. What’s your real answer.”

“My answer is, _I think they wanna fuck_. There’s some major tension between those two. They at least need to get laid. Whether it’s by the other or not.” Changbin started to dig into his food, his mouth watering at the thought of the food he had wanted since the morning.

“Minho? I could see him getting laid. Have you _seen_ him dance?” Jisung’s eyebrows were raised high, “Seungmin just seems so… shy about that kind of thing? If that’s the right way to put it.” Jisung was gesturing with the fork and knife, making Hyunjin nervous. He plucked the utensils out of the younger’s hands and placed them down. 

“I don’t think he’s ever dated either. I don’t recall there ever being a girlfriend or boyfriend. Hell, I don’t even know if he likes _anyone._ I’ve not heard of any crushes.” Hyunjin listed off. He didn’t realize there were so many unknowns about Seungmin’s love life until now.

“Do you think they can get it together for the show though? It’s weird seeing them both be unprofessional when in class they were fine.” Jisung, now more aware of Hyunjin’s apprehension, did not gesticulate wildly with the fork and knife in hand. He was too hungry to be denied of his food any longer.

In class, the two showed no sign of arguing. They never spoke to each other. When they moved into the auditorium and on the stage, the two immediately started to argue.

“We’ll see how the line test goes tomorrow, and go from there. I don’t even know if I should put them as floaters or not. They’d just argue more.” Changbin was already feeling his headache come back. 

“Put Minho over costumes, and then Seungmin over props and set. They can’t argue because Narnia’s on the right-wing while props and set are on the left-wing. If they argue _then,_ then those two are just looking for a fight with the other.” Jisung pointed out. The area for costumes was named Narnia long before they were ever in the class. It was a large closet that had hundreds of pieces of attire in it. Hats, clothes, scarves, wigs, shoes, funny Halloween costumes; they had it all. 

Changbin and Jisung worked well together. They had a similar train of thought, but different ways to approach things. He was grateful that Jisung was his assistant director throughout this whole mess. 

“You think we can bring Jeongin in to work the lights again? He does it for dance all the time so he’s our best option. The three of us would fry the lights and we know it.” Hyunjin stated with no room for argument. He wasn’t wrong though, the three weren’t necessarily the most reliable when it came to some things. 

There’s a reason why Jisung was never allowed to use the power tools, why Hyunjin couldn’t use the sewing machine, and why Changbin wasn’t allowed to use a staple gun.

Yet, they’ve got twelve weeks until the show. Changbin could only hope that things go smoothly from here on out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> first chapter is done! this has been sitting in my drafts for months as I've been prioritizing other fics over this one. to tell you how long it's been chilling in my docs, this was finished around March? I didn't know where I wanted to go with it yet but now I've got a good idea of what I want to happen! Let me know what you're feeling about this so far, comments are a big motivator for me. Head on over to my twitter to get more frequent updates on what's up with my writing, and also to find some social media aus if you're interested in that kind of thing. 
> 
> [Main Twitter](https://twitter.com/decaf_skzpresso)  
> [Writing Twitter](https://twitter.com/skzpresso)


	2. Not The Right Line!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "The test was going smoothly. Seungmin and Minho were bouncing off of each other’s energy perfectly as usual. The other cast members matched the vibe as well. It felt like the show was coming to life.
> 
> Problems only started occurring around page seven. At this point in the scene, Seungmin and Minho needed to argue back and forth over what to do. The problem was the fact they needed to argue. They were too passionate about what they did best."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is coming out rather quickly since it's on the short side as well. also, so far the fic is projected to be six chapters! the next installment is where things begin to get... interesting. depending on how it writes itself, i may up the rating or tag it heavily. but for now, enjoy this new chapter~

“Minho, relax. You know these lines!” Lia stressed.

Minho was pacing around the work station after running lines with Lia for over an hour now. Lia was an assistant set crew head and one of Minho’s best friends. They met a year ago but they immediately bonded over hating a math teacher. The two have been inseparable, however, no one else seems to realize they’re friends. Not many of their classes overlap especially with Lia being a year behind Minho. The only reason they ever shared that math class was because Lia was an advanced student in that topic.

“ _And_?” Minho was snooping around in the set materials to try and calm his nerves. They could’ve been in the cafeteria eating lunch, but they came to the auditorium instead. Minho was thankful for theatre being the last class of the day.

“You’re gonna overthink this and wind up bombing the line test if you don’t relax,” Lia spoke the cold, hard truth. Minho didn’t want to hear that but knew she was right deep down. “What do you even have against Seungmin anyway? He’s literally like the nicest person, except to you.” 

“It’s a stupid story, I’m not telling you. At least not right now.” Minho didn’t like talking about Seungmin. He could feel his heart race by mentioning him. 

“You’re telling me eventually! You’re gonna die young if you keep letting him stress you.”

\- - -

“Alrighty, Jisung. Are we ready to deal with the only two people I truly wish to drown in confetti?” Changbin falls into his chair. He almost missed it, but he’s not gonna tell anyone that.

“That’s _too_ specific.” Jisung cautiously glanced at Changbin, “But the answer is no. This whole line test is gonna be filled with side-eyes and eye-rolling.” Jisung hefted the prompt book out of his bookbag. The binder was heavy enough to cause a loud bang when he dropped it on the edge of the stage. “Hopefully, the set crew thinks that they dropped a wood plank so I don’t get lectured.” 

“Spoke too soon, Ji. Here comes Lia.” Changbin snickered at Jisung’s walk of shame over to Lia. She stood right outside the curtains, beckoning him over with her hand. 

Changbin finally saw Minho and Seungmin, not together of course, but at least they’re present. 

“Minho and Seungmin! Come here for a minute!” He called them over a few minutes before the test was set to start. They cast a glare at each other before coming to sit in front of Changbin.

“Just do your best on this line test. And please, for the love of all things good, _don’t fuck_ with each other,” Changbin emphasized. Seungmin scoffed with a look of disbelief. 

“The lack of trust you have in me is _astounding_. I’m not going to risk my own part just to fuck with him.” Seungmin jabbed a thumb over to where Minho was sitting. Minho bit his tongue, almost drawing blood. He didn’t want to get into an argument before the test. 

“Oh, got nothing smart to say? Are you that nervous?” Seungmin pestered. 

“Seungmin? Could you shut the hell up for once? He’s being professional here, not you. Now get upstage.” Jisung heard the teasing as he came back to his seat. He was going ahead and initiating the test, not that Changbin minded. 

Jisung’s eyebrows were knitted together. It took no time at all to piss Jisung off when it came to those two. Seungmin and Minho made their way to center stage alongside the other cast members in the scene. 

“You two ready?” Changbin asked one last time. They both nodded without sparing each other a second glance. 

“ _Lights Up_!” Jisung bellows. 

Changbin and Jisung watched the cast closely. Hyunjin stayed in the back to monitor volume. The cast members allowed to have prompt books were facing Seungmin and Minho to ensure they couldn’t see the script.

The test was going smoothly. Seungmin and Minho were bouncing off of each other’s energy perfectly as usual. The other cast members matched the vibe as well. It felt like the show was coming to life.

Problems only started occurring around page seven. At this point in the scene, Seungmin and Minho needed to argue back and forth over what to do. The problem _was_ the fact they needed to argue. They were _too_ passionate about what they did best.

“ _I don’t need to apologize! They did it to themselves!_ ” Minho shouted. 

“ _But you’re the one who spread rumors!_ ” Seungmin’s character was level-headed as he could be in this situation. However, Changbin could hear a bit too much bite in his voice. 

“ _Maybe they deserved to get fired_.”

“ _Maybe_ you deserve to lose the main lead!” Seungmin broke character, his eyes were dark when he turned to Minho. 

“Maybe _you_ deserve to lose that perfect GPA!” Minho snapped as he grabbed the collar of Seungmin’s shirt. The students near the two back away quickly. Changbin and Jisung could see all the phones coming out to record. They were hoping the altercation would come to an end before they had to get involved.

“And you wonder why I fucking hate you.” Seungmin spits before he shoves Minho’s chest, effectively knocking him off. Seungmin charged at Minho and tackled him to the ground. The solid thud of the two hitting the floor brought out everyone from backstage.

“What the hell are you two doing?” Chan bellowed, coming to see what the commotion was about. Changbin and Jisung were on their way upstage, but Chan beat them to it. 

Chan yanked Seungmin up by the neck of his shirt and walked him away from Minho. Chan looked to be _dragging_ Seungmin away more than guiding him. Minho was being attended to by Felix. 

Chan took Seungmin out into the hall, while Felix took Minho to one of the dressing rooms so they could talk in peace. Everyone remained frozen on the stage, stunned by what had happened. 

“Uh- I guess- We’re done? Over half the class period has passed so we won’t do anything stage-wise today. Just go back to your respective crews and work until Jisung and I figure out what we’re doing next, ok?” Changbin confirmed with the crew onstage before everyone filtered out. 

Changbin and Jisung went to the back of the auditorium to meet with Hyunjin. 

“The good thing is, their volume was amazing!” Hyunjin tried to lighten the situation. The pained smile on his face gave away his gloomy mood. “Guys, what the hell do we do?” 

Jisung slouched so far in his chair he was close to sliding out of it. His eyes were closed as he was deep in thought. Changbin could see the tension Jisung was holding in his jaw by clenching his teeth. 

“I don’t know, Hyunjin. Do we really have the means to kick them off stage though? You heard them before they got off track. It was _perfect_ , exactly what I was hearing in my head.” Jisung said.

“No, I agree with that,” Changbin interjected. “But is this what’s best for the crew too? We can’t have a stressed environment because then nothing good will get done. Last year’s show was hell because of that same problem.” Changbin explained while fighting off that memory. 

“A director and A.D. not getting along caused so many problems,” Jisung whined. They all hated remembering the show. “At least the leads are replaceable if necessary.”

“We’re off-topic! How do we get those two to at least be civil?” Hyunjin brought the conversation back full-circle. The trio remained silent while they were thinking.

“They need to talk it out.” Jisung sighed after coming up with nothing better. “That’s really the only way. Whatever beef they have with each other needs to get gone.” Changbin hummed in agreement.

“If that doesn’t work?” Hyunjin encouraged. 

“Lock them in a dressing room until they figure it out.” Changbin was only half-joking when he said it. Jisung and Hyunjin laughed, not catching the seriousness behind it. He figured he could keep that idea to himself until it’s necessary. 

“Oh, look!” Hyunjin whispered. He pointed between Jisung and Changbin’s head towards the front of the auditorium. Their gaze followed the direction of Hyunjin’s finger to see the leads standing side by side, but refusing to look at one another. Chan stood between them and called down the three from the back. 

“ _Go_.” Was all Chan said before walking off to his crew. 

“I’m sorry,” Seungmin said as he was dragging his foot across some tape on the stage. 

“Yeah, I’m sorry too,” Minho whispered. 

The trio glanced at each other with caution but decided to let them free anyway. 

“We’re not going to do any onstage work for the rest of class. So you two can go work with your crews now. You’re staying after class for a few to talk with me though.” Changbin said. The two nodded before sulking off in opposite directions. 

“Seungmin! Let’s chat.” Lia called out as Seungmin entered the work area. He wasn’t in the position to tell her no so he sat down on the ancient couch that was available to them. 

“What’s up with you and Minho? You don’t have to go into detail, but, _why_?” Lia was curious but polite. It made Seungmin think before telling her no right away. 

“We don’t mesh. We have a weird history. Nothing has changed since then.” Seungmin explained bluntly. He wasn’t going to share details yet because Minho was also half of the story. He might not be on good terms with him, but he figured that was enough to satiate Lia’s curiosity for now. 

“Hm, I see. Maybe talk things out at some point. Changbin looks like he's starting to go grey already.” Lia laughed breathily, earning a chuckle from Seungmin as well. 

“Changbin has Jisung, he’ll be fine.” Seungmin jokes. He wanted to get away from the topic of Minho as soon as he could. 

“Yeah, yeah. Now come spot me so I don’t fall off the ladder while I paint.” Lia said and dragged him up to his feet. Seungmin knew better than to deny.

When Lia was steady on the ladder, Chan tugged Seungmin away for a moment and told Felix to make sure Lia didn’t fall. 

“Look. I want to apologize for how I handled the situation. I shouldn’t have been dragging you out of a conflict, but it’s putting a lot of pressure on the crews.” Chan’s words were sincere as he spoke. “I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do to help the relationship between you two, but if I’m needed somehow just let me know. Minho’s actually a good person.” 

“I know that, Chan.” Seungmin huffed. “I’m not upset with you dragging me off because you did what needed to be done at that moment. I _am_ tired of various people telling me how to deal with this situation. It’s nothing against you, but I’ve heard enough from five people so far.” Seungmin snapped and moved back over to Lia, who was now standing on her tip-toes on the ladder. 

“ _Lia!_ ” Seungmin could hear Minho yell as he strolled into the room. “What have I told you about doing that? You’re gonna hurt yourself.” Minho said as he picked her up from the ladder, setting her down on the ground. “You are not as tall as you think you are.” 

“I’m taller than you!” Lia teased. 

“No, you’re-” 

Minho was cut off when Lia began to mercilessly tickle his waist, making him crouch down to escape. 

“See! _I’m taller_!” She said as if she were singing. “Would you feel better if I made Seungmin paint?” 

Seungmin and Minho both knew they couldn’t say no to Lia or it would be obvious they were being petty. 

“I’ll paint, Lia. Just tell me what I need to be doing.” Seungmin gave in before Minho had to agree. He didn’t miss the small twinkle that appeared in Minho’s eye either. 

“Anyway, what color was the milkshake prop supposed to be in the diner scene?” Felix yelled from the other side of the room. 

And just like that, the rest of the class went on smoothly. 

Seungmin and Minho weren’t looking forward to _speaking_ with Changbin though. They knew it would be a one-sided conversation. 

A _lecture_ one may say.

\- - -

After the auditorium cleared out, Changbin and Jisung were perched on the edge of the stage, waiting for the leads to sit. Seungmin and Minho soon sat a few seats apart from each other in the front row of the house. The directors stare them down for a few painful seconds before Changbin decides to speak. 

“I get you two have some problems with each other. But, you’re dumb as hell for letting it ruin your performance. Today’s conduct from both of you was unacceptable.” Minho and Seungmin’s heads hang low, unable to escape the duo’s burning stares. 

“If it happens again, I’m telling the guidance counselor to deal with you. I’m your director, not your babysitter. The grade for the line test is being thrown out since you didn’t finish it before fighting.” Changbin pauses for several seconds. “Anything you two need to say to me or each other?” 

“No.” The two croaked out. Their throats were dry from the fear of Changbin kicking them from the show. They were thankful he seemed to have no intention of doing that. 

“This was a warning. Pull the fighting shit again and that’s when the counselors get involved. If you two start being petty, Jisung and I will handle it. Clear?” Minho looked up to see a rather grim expression on both Changbin and Jisung’s faces. Seungmin didn’t even bother to look up. They mumbled out a yes before Changbin dismissed them. 

Minho and Seungmin scurried out of the auditorium, wanting to get out of the uncomfortable situation.

“You know you’re scary as hell right?” Jisung joked as he shoved Changbin’s shoulder lightly. 

“I hate being so serious! It doesn’t feel right.” Changbin whined as he let his back hit the stage floor. “Don’t you have a wild Hyunjin to find?” 

“Oh, shut up! I’m nervous around him ok. It wasn’t as bad when I didn’t know he liked guys. But like, I have a chance? So I’m just really nervous.” Jisung rambled on, talking over the squeak of the auditorium door opening.

“Look who I’ve found!” Hyunjin shouts while shaking an exhausted Jeongin by the shoulders. “He wanted a copy of the script so he can start annotating when y’all start planning the lights.” 

“Dude, I’m _tired_. Leave me be. AP World kicked my _ass_ today, I need a nap.” Jeongin said, trying to swat Hyunjin off of him. However, Hyunjin was clinging onto him with an iron grip. 

“Ok, _dude_. Did you fail the test you took the other day?” Hyunjin asked. Changbin didn’t have to be close to the youngest to tell he heaved a huge sigh. 

“I put my name on it… and then I fell asleep.” Jeongin paused. “So I got a 5. She felt bad for me so she gave me points for putting my name on the paper when other students didn’t do it.”

“How-” Jisung’s brain shut down at Jeongin’s retelling. “You’re such a good student though? Were you that exhausted?” Jisung begins to worry and runs towards the two waddling their way down the aisle. “You need to take care of yourself!”

“I know, _mother_. I was cramming the night before because I was worried about not doing well. I stayed up all night and… we see how that turned out.” Jeongin pressed his lips together in a straight line while he paused. “Having my most difficult class at the end of the day is so stupid. Especially now that I’m across the building, on the upper floor, when I need to help out in here!”

“I’ve got a script copy with me, Innie. My bag's in the dressing room.” Changbin called the youngest over with a wave of his hand. Hyunjin let Jeongin go and watched as he followed Changbin with a bounce in his step.

This left Jisung and Hyunjin stuck in awkward silence. They tend to rely on Changbin or Jeongin to help carry the conversation. The two are friends, but they have never been but so close. More intimate conversations tend to make them awkward, but there hadn’t even been a start.

“So,” Jisung drawled, “What do you think about this whole Seungmin and Minho situation?” 

Jisung couldn’t think of anything better to say. His brain was mush after seeing Hyunjin smile brightly towards him earlier. He knew he was whipped, but he won’t admit it aloud. 

“It’s pretty wild. I wonder if they’ll get it together now that Changbin went into director mode.”

\- - -

“Why the _fuck_ would you ruin the test like that!” Minho growled out, slamming Seungmin into the lockers. The clattering sound resonating through the eerily quiet hallway. No teachers or students were lingering around. 

“Seemed like you were struggling-” Seungmin smirked. “Didn’t want to embarrass you by showing you up.” He shoved Minho off of him as best he could, but Minho was way more built than Seungmin was. 

“Minho! Seungmin!” Lia yelled, running down the hallway faster than they expected when Minho lunged in to grab Seungmin's collar again. Minho refused to let go of Seungmin, so Lia pushed herself between their chests to break them up. 

“Get a hold of yourself!” Lia slapped Minho across the face. His eyes were wide as he stumbled back in shock. “And you-” She turned towards Seungmin, while Minho was still holding his cheek. “Stop egging him on.” 

She finally left their personal space and crossed her arms over her chest. 

“Get it together. You two are just embarrassing yourselves by acting like children. You’re so much better than that. Solve this, or I tell Changbin.” Lia threatened once before stalking away without a sound. 

Minho and Seungmin looked at each other in silence before they split to leave. 

Someone was always intervening in their issues. It was beginning to drive them both crazy. If they didn’t get the tension out of the system, it would wind up ruining the show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> idk how i’m feeling about this update, but it’s a necessary lead in to the next chapter! i hope you enjoyed nonetheless. i promise to make up for it with the next few chapters!
> 
> UPDATE: i mentioned in one of the comments below that i wanted to update in about 2 weeks. i have hit a major writing block due to writing about 6 works (fics & twt aus) nonstop for the past month or more. i'm giving myself an entire week with no mandatory writing so i can continue to produce better content. thank you so much!  
> [Main Twitter](https://twitter.com/decaf_skzpresso)  
> [Writing Twitter](https://twitter.com/skzpresso)


	3. Again?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Me? Minho? This Lee Minho? Me?” Minho laughed while crossing over to Seungmin. “I’m the problem?” The look of disbelief across his face was genuine. 
> 
> “You’re just as guilty in all of this as I am. You can’t push the blame off on me.” Seungmin finally stepped into Minho’s space. Their chests nearly pressed together when Seungmin looked down to see Minho glaring up at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty, it's kind of short but i got to the important parts. nice turning point and some foreshadowing to their prior history. it's hardly edited and it might be fluffed a bit later on, but nothing major will change. Enjoy!

“San? Wooyoung? You two are gonna come in from stage left, right after Minho throws the plate. Remember, be as oblivious as humanly possible. Also, link arms and sync your steps. You can choose how you two want to do that.” Changbin gives the directions quickly. He wrote everything in his prompt book that he wanted to see. Changbin was struggling to read his handwriting, but he was confident that's what he wrote down.

“Make sure to stand at an angle so the audience can see both of you. Seungmin? Enter from stage right at the same time to approach Minho.” Seungmin sends him a thumbs up from behind the curtain. “Everyone ready? Top of the scene when Jisung gives you the go.” 

He leans back in the cheap metal chair that the school provided. Jisung and Changbin had brought in a rickety table. So they no longer had to put their belongings on the stage now that they were polishing the blocking. The table was filled with papers and props that were currently being used, and it was a  _ mess _ . Jisung was struggling to find his prompt book, causing the start of the scene to be delayed.

“I’m sorry. I don’t know where it is. I thought I put it in my bag this morning-” A book was shoved in front of Jisung’s face before he could keep rambling. Hyunjin was standing behind him, rubbing one of Jisung’s shoulders softly to try and ease his worry. 

“Take mine for the day. I took photos of the whole script just in case something happened.” Hyunjin explained, planting a kiss to the very top of Jisung’s head before walking away. 

A flush rose from beneath Jisung's shirt collar to the tops of his ears. He cleared his throat before giving the cue and hoped no one would mention the terrible voice crac k that got paired with it.

Changbin was observing the scene closely. San and Wooyoung’s eerie cheeriness against Minho’s rage causes a beautiful reconciliation scene with the help of Seungmin’s character. The scene was executed well, nothing line-wise needed to be polished. A few blocking adjustments and the scene would be completely prepared.

However, at the end of the scene, Changbin could finally see all of Minho and Seungmin’s faces for the first time since the day before. 

“Minho? Seungmin? Step down here, behind me and Jisung.” Changbin wasn’t sure what to think about the discoloration on their faces. Jisung cocks an eyebrow in concern, but turns to face the two anyway. 

Bruises were littered across their skin. Changbin could easily see the healing cuts and scrapes on their hands. Purple, blue, and green were not favorable colors on them right now. 

“So, what’s up with the matching bruises?” Jisung calls out. Hyunjin was making his way down from the back of the auditorium. Changbin could see San and Wooyoung lingering on stage as they were unsure of what they were doing next.

Seungmin and Minho stood in silence. Hyunjin had crept up behind them and clapped a hand on each of their shoulders loudly. 

“I think you should be answering Jisung,” Hyunjin whispered between them. It wasn’t often Hyunjin took the lead in situations like this, but Jisung seemed to be eating it up. Changbin was trying not to look at his friend, who looked as if he was ready to let Hyunjin have his way with him. 

“I thought you two were being civil. But now it looks like you two fight every day after class.” Changbin said. He could hear sandals clicking up the stage as he was finishing up his thought. 

“That’s because they are.” 

Changbin and Jisung whipped around to face Lia, who was glaring at the fighting duo cooly. Minho sucked in a deep breath, while Seungmin paled at her words. 

“A few weeks ago, after that first line test actually, they fought. I said I wouldn’t mention it if they could get it together. Looks like they haven’t. Minho hasn’t been telling me about the recent fights, though.”

“Thanks for letting us know, Lia. Could you tell the crews the stop working and come out? Seems like we need a new method here.” Jisung asked, blinking up sweetly at Lia. 

Changbin had no fucking idea what he was planning. A few moments later, the front few rows of the auditorium were being filled up with the rest of the cast and crew. 

“Get on stage,” Jisung growled out to the two who were still frozen in place. They quickly got up there and were fidgeting around awkwardly. 

“You have two options.” Jisung started. Changbin was  _ extremely  _ curious as to what he was doing. Jisung was smart in very creative ways, so he had faith in him. “Either you two talk it out, here and now.”

Seungmin and Minho both scoffed, immediately dismissing the idea. Changbin could see Jisung’s blood boiling. Hyunjin stood behind Jisung and ran his hands through his hair gently in an attempt to calm him down.

“Ah, so you’ve chosen to be recast,” Jisung said, enjoying the panic that spread across their face. “Oh no, you already told me you didn’t like the first option. Why change it now?” The innocent tone in his voice making it sting.  The crew members were murmuring about the situation behind them. 

“Public humiliation. That was your big plan? Couldn’t you do better?” Minho snapped, lunging towards Jisung. Oddly enough, Seungmin tugged him back. 

“What, you have a better idea, bricks for brains?” 

“Like you’re one to talk! You never listen to what they’re telling you to do.” Minho snatched his arm away from Seungmin like he’s been burned.

Changbin wasn’t surprised by anything, anymore. He feels like he’s seen it all. 

“I’m gonna ask you to do one thing,” Changbin said, the entire class growing quiet. “Make a promise to your cast and crewmates that you won’t be the reason this show fails.” 

Minho and Seungmin look at him blankly, refusing to look at each other as well. The silence continued, seeming to wait for Changbin to keep speaking.

“If you two cause the entire production to go to waste, I’m pretty sure the teacher can fail you and demand reimbursements of some kind.” He continued. Changbin was pretty sure it’s happened in the past, but sometimes an empty threat is necessary. 

“Fine, damn,” Minho broke first, “I’ll be nice or whatever. If someone is fucking it up, it’s Seungmin.”

Seungmin rolls his eyes, poking his cheek with his tongue before giving in as well. He shifted his weight to either foot repeatedly from contained adrenaline. Minho can work his nerves faster than anyone he has ever met.

“I’m not going to cause issues. Can’t fail.” 

Changbin turns to see the entire crew look on in skepticism, a few even recording the scene to make sure it was documented. He thought that was a great idea. 

“Alright. Now everyone is on the same basic page. I’d say to start cleaning up your work stations so we can leave a bit earlier today. All the rehearsed scenes went well. You’re doing great,  _ please  _ keep up the good work. The show will be amazing if things go well.” Changbin stood up to easier refer to everyone in the room. He could see Hyunjin continuing to stand behind Jisung once, now rubbing at his shoulders. 

The crew slowly rises and scatters out to their original areas, Seungmin and Minho remaining on stage. They knew it would be best to stay before Jisung or Changbin managed to find a new problem to work on. 

“You two have any club activities or stuff like that?” Changbin didn’t want to  _ use  _ this idea, but it seems like the best option. They both gave him a negative response after some thought. “Stay behind, will you? Jisung and Hyunjin, you two can go with the others.”

They looked at him, confusion evident but chose to move on. 

The rest of the class moves on with little to no complaint. The crews managed to clean everything thoroughly in preparation for final touches on big pieces. They were only two weeks away from hell-week, and things were going well. 

Well, all things except for Minho and Seungmin’s off-stage relationship. It was beginning to stress the crew. The members were quiet as they tried to stay out of range of their arguing that happened behind the curtain. Jisung and Changbin saw it, and they didn’t need that weighing on everyone else. Hell-week was excellently named, but the extra stress of rivals wasn’t necessary.

When the final bell rang, the crew dragged themselves out to leave. They all looked tired from the work and activities of today. The end was near. The entire class was probably only continuing in hopes of a fun cast party after the show.

“So. Come with me. I need to ask your opinion on the costumes they’re working on.” Changbin asked. It wasn’t his smoothest lie, but he had been polishing it since he told them to stay behind. Minho and Seungmin didn’t hesitate to follow him back to the dressing room. Changbin opened the door for them and then started fumbling with his pockets. 

“Damn, let me get my phone.” He said before walking away for a moment. He silently put the keys in his hand and dashed back to the door. 

“Sorry, guys. Had to do it.” Changbin said while locking the door. He soon after started to hear banging on the door. “I’ll let you out when you’ve sorted things out. Or when I’m ready to go home.”

He sat down at the same rickety table he was at earlier, wondering what would happen in that dressing room. 

- - -

“Damn, he’s smart.” Seungmin spits before hopping onto the dressing room counter. He really shouldn’t be sitting on it since a few screws were missing, and it had an  _ interesting  _ lean to it. It didn’t stop him or the other crew members, however.

“It’s Changbin, of course, he’s smart. He just pretends he isn’t.” Minho said. He pulled out a chair and went to check his phone. “Of course he’d put us in here. The signal is strong enough for a text. That’s it.”

Seungmin sighed deeply, rubbing at his temples. 

“Why did I have to be stuck here with you?” Seungmin grumbled, mainly to himself. 

Too bad Minho heard it anyway.

“ _ You _ put us in here, you know? Most of the time, I’m not starting something.” Minho said. He was defending himself the best he could. They both knew it wasn’t the truth, but Seungmin let him believe that.

“But  _ maybe,  _ if you didn’t make such a big deal out of everything, then we wouldn’t be having these problems!” Seungmin jumped up from the counter. He had no reason to watch his volume levels. Janitors always get to the auditorium last, and Changbin couldn’t care less about what went down as long as they were alive by the end of it. 

“Me? Minho?  _ This  _ Lee Minho?  _ Me _ ?” Minho laughed while crossing over to Seungmin. “ _ I’m _ the problem?” The look of disbelief across his face was genuine. 

“You’re just as guilty in all of this as I am. You can’t push the blame off on me.” Seungmin finally stepped into Minho’s space. Their chests nearly pressed together when Seungmin looked down to see Minho glaring up at him. 

Minho’s eyes gleamed with ferocity, pulling Seungmin from his anger. He watched Minho change through the years, and he’s become more handsome than Seungmin could’ve ever imagined. Catlike eyes were paired with a perfectly straight nose and well-defined lips. His skin was well taken care of, especially if how  _ soft  _ his lips looked were anything to go by. 

Why was he so distracted?

“Well, that sounds like what the  _ fuck  _ you’re doing.” Minho’s voice was threatening. Moreso than Seungmin had ever heard it before. All of Seungmin’s rationality went out the window. “If we are just as guilty as the other, then why-”

Seungmin snaked a hand around the back of Minho’s neck, startling him to a stop, before crushing their lips together. Minho grabbed at Seungmin’s arm tightly, squeezing as he started kissing back against Seungmin. Minho never thought this would be happening.

_ Again. _

It was anything but sweet. Seungmin wasted no time drawing Minho’s bottom lip between his teeth to tug at, maybe biting down harder than he should. There was no blood, so he figured it was fine. Minho grabbed Seungmin’s hips in a secure grasp, crowding as close as he could to the younger. The warmth from Seungmin’s body was becoming overwhelming.

Minho was a bit shocked when Seungmin deepened the kiss even further. But he was mainly confused as to  _ why  _ it was happening. He couldn’t back down though, that’d be bad on his image. 

He parted his lips enough to let Seungmin get what he wanted, before grinding up against Seungmin’s hips unexpectedly. The younger softly moaned into the kiss while walking Minho back into a wall. Their lips were beginning to go numb from the force of the kiss, and breathing was becoming a painful reminder for staying conscious. 

Seungmin pulled back, but only to keep kissing at Minho’s jaw and throat. Minho could see himself in the mirror behind Seungmin. It took up the entire wall so that nothing could be hidden. He couldn’t believe he got as wound up as he did, sweating and lips beginning to bruise. The light and fleeting kisses were almost tickling him, but they were randomly punctuated by firmer pecks as well.

When Seungmin suddenly bites down onto a sensitive spot on Minho’s neck, the initial yelp faded out into a whine. Minho ran his hand through Seungmin’s hair, occasionally tugging before Seungmin came back up to his lips. 

The first kiss was nothing compared to this one. Their bodies were kept flush against each other, no space between them at all. Minho put both of his hands in Seungmin’s hair, enjoying the soft strands he was tugging at. 

Seungmin’s hands made their way from Minho’s neck to his ass and squeezed the flesh there tightly; he moaned embarrassingly loud from what it sounded like in his head. Seungmin grinned into the kiss before he continued to knead the muscles there. 

Seungmin loved the feeling of Minho’s body beneath his hands, it somehow felt  _ perfect _ .

Before they could go any further, they could hear keys jangling nearby. They jumped apart from each other, hurriedly smoothing out their hair and clothes as much as possible. Minho was mentally cursing Seungmin for the new bruise that was on his neck. One that clearly wasn’t from a fight.

The door unlocked and creaked open slowly, but Changbin didn’t enter the room. They could hear him walk off with keys instead of entering the room. 

Minho and Seungmin didn’t bother to look at each other before scrambling to grab their things and leave. 

Their minds were beginning to clear from the lust-filled fog that had started to cloud their brain. Neither of them could face the other just yet.

- - -

“Hey, Lia?” Minho called Lia as soon as he made it outside of the building. She had probably just made it home since she lived nearby.

“ _ Hey, Minho! What’s up? You never call this early. _ ” Lia asked. He could hear some rustling, followed by a loud thud and some unique insults to follow. 

“Dopped a textbook on your foot?”

“ _ I hate you. Anyway, why are you calling?”  _ Lia asked once more. She was impatient as always.

“So, uh, if I tell you this, then it stays between us, and  _ no one  _ will hear of it. Got it?” Minho said. He was thankful for his earbuds having a built-in mic, so he can try and cover himself a bit better. He wasn’t proud of how the situation affected him. 

“ _Shit, ok,_ _I’m here. Lips are sealed._ ” 

Minho paused to consider if he should  _ really  _ tell her, but he would spill about it anyway. 

“I may or may not have just made out with Seungmin. Like, it was a lot.” Minho whispered. His mind was still reeling from the event, but he wanted to forget it as quickly as possible.

_ “You  _ what?  _ Kim Seungmin? The Seungmin, you  _ hate?” 

“Ok, yes, that Seungmin. It just happened. We were arguing, and out of nowhere, he just pins me to a wall and kisses me.” Minho felt his cheeks warm, but he could blame it on the chilly wind.

“ _ It was all him? Like, he initiated it all? Wouldn’t have expected that. _ ” Lia trailed off, but Minho couldn’t blame her. He never would’ve imagined Seungmin being so forward. “ _ But what are you going to do about it now? _ ”

“It’s Friday, so I’m going to forget about it,” Minho promised himself. For his own wellbeing, and for the play. 

“ _ Sure, you will. You’ll forget it until you run out of good porn to watch. _ ” Lia laughed at Minho’s gasp. “ _ I’m not lying. _ ”

“Shut up. I’m ending the call. Talk to you later.” 

He didn’t want to admit she  _ could  _ be right.

- - -

Seungmin didn’t have someone he could just flat out tell what happened. He was supposed to have Hyunjin carry him home, but how can he face Hyunjin like this? Seungmin didn’t have much of a choice and made his way over to where Hyunjin parks typically. 

“Dude, what the hell? Were you  _ fucking  _ someone?” Hyunjin immediately jumps to as Seungmin slumped into the car. Seungmin is barely able to get his seat belt on before Hyunjin grabs his face to scrutinize him. “You’ve been making out with  _ someone  _ at least. Your hair is a mess. What happened?”

Hyunjin refused to turn back and start the car, so Seungmin needed to choose his words carefully. 

“I got done talking to Minho, and Changbin let us out. Then I came across someone I‘ve been somewhat interested in. We talked for a bit, and then this happened.” Seungmin  _ hoped  _ he was lying through his teeth well enough. Considering Seungmin hadn’t had a partner yet, Hyunjin didn’t have anything to compare this experience with. 

“Min. Tell me.” Hyunjin knew it wasn’t the full story; Seungmin could see the slight disappointment in his eyes.

“That’s all you’re getting, Jin,” Seungmin said. It let Hyunjin know there was more to the story he wasn’t willing to talk about yet. It should be enough to satisfy his curiosity for now. 

Seungmin is proven right whenever Hyunjin finally moves to turn on the car and leave the parking lot.

He isn’t sure what drove him to  _ make out  _ with Minho. It had been a pesky thought he hadn’t been able to get rid of because he will admit, Minho is beautiful. There’s just too much awkwardness between the two for things to work out.

They can just move on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello to you who finished this chapter! I hope it's not a complete let down from the build-up involved, but I don't think it would end up much better if I stressed over it for days. I pretty much sat down and cranked this chapter out two or three hours ago, edited it, and called it a day. classes start the 17th so I'll develop a writing schedule around that soon I hope. 
> 
> also, I would love to know what you think the history between Seungmin and Minho might be! what are you thinking about Hyunjin and Jisung? I love reading your comments and they really give me so much motivation to write. to anyone who's already left kudos or comments, thank you so much for letting me know you're enjoying it. I hope to see you soon with more works~
> 
> [Main Twitter](https://twitter.com/decaf_skzpresso)   
>  [Writing Twitter](https://twitter.com/skzpresso)


	4. My Eyes!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When the bell rang to leave, Jeongin darted out of the auditorium and into the stairwell. He didn’t want to go to a tutoring session, but he didn’t want to go home quite yet either. Some days it’s nice to have some peace in the library. He can’t hide there consistently or they would start kicking him out. So he climbs to the top of the stairwell and chills there while fighting the bad wifi. Jeongin just wants to watch some videos.
> 
> When he heard the double doors open from the lower level, he leaned over to take a peek at who had come in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i posted again! i'm alive! this chapter took a bit longer since classes have started (more at the end notes) but I wanted to get this out. the editing was rough so I may have missed some things, make sure to point those out for me if I don't catch them soon. 
> 
> anyway, enjoy~

“Hey, Changbin?” Jisung called out, trying to get Changbin’s attention as he spaced out. When he finally directed his gaze to the younger, he pointed to Minho and Seungmin. “They haven’t argued in the past week.”

Jisung was standing up, trying to sort through the new props that they were meant to look over. Hyunjin stole his seat without him noticing.

“It worked then.” Changbin felt proud that his idea managed to do something positive. 

“What was the thing you had them stay after for?” Hyunjin asked. He tugged Jisung into his lap, wrapping his arms around his waist with a firm hold. Jisung hadn’t quite realized what happened.

“I shoved them in a dressing room together.” 

“Hm,” Hyunjin’s brows crease while he paused and hooked his chin over Jisung’s shoulder, “When that happened, Seungmin came to my car and looked like he had been _kissing_ someone.” 

“And you didn’t bother to tell us?” Jisung turned to face Hyunjin the best he could. Their faces were much closer than either anticipated, so they jolted in shock. Both of their faces flushed red.

“He said he had left Changbin, and met up with someone else.” 

“How long-” Changbin was cut off by Chan coming out on stage, and signaling for the three to join him on stage. 

“Speech about hell-week?” Chan whispered. Indirectly reminding them about the fact they have new students that joined this semester.

“Right! Hell-week!” Changbin exclaimed, “Can we get everyone in the house?” 

Jisung, Hyunjin, and Chan went to the wings to clear the students out and into the house section. Much like the other week, they look bored with being taken away from their work. They were midway through the class so all the students were in the zone.

“So, we have one full week left until hell-week, considering it’s a Monday right now.” Changbin could see Lia’s soul leave her body as she was close to tears in the front row. “Lia here is representing how you will all feel through hell week.”

The new students panicked, eyes wide and attention piqued. Changbin couldn’t help but laugh. 

“It’s not that bad, but it’s not fun either. We’re gonna run from 4:00 to 8:00 on the first three days, and then on Thursday, it’s until we run the entire show twice with no errors.” The entire class groaned. Even seasoned students like Chan. Those nights were just called _Until_ since you never knew how long it would take. For shorter shows, it would only last around two or three hours. You would be lucky to leave before ten with shows that have a longer run time.

“There will be two fifteen minutes breaks, and one thirty-minute break for dinner. We usually have some parents volunteer to bring dinner in for everyone, so don’t worry about it too much.” Jisung chimed in. “Food and water are important, so please eat and stay hydrated during these rehearsals.”

“And bring deodorant!” Felix yelled from his seat a bit farther back. A few laughed before they realized he was serious. “Listen, stage lights are hot as _fuck_. You’re going to sweat. And you can’t bring perfume or cologne into the dressing rooms because someone could have an allergy. I don’t want to be around you stinky fuckers.” 

“Damn, you’re right. I forgot about that.” Changbin mumbled, he didn’t think to give that warning since he was used to everyone doing what they needed to do. 

“I don’t think there’s anything else we must mention? We can answer any questions though so please let us know.” Jisung clapped a few times with a bright smile, “Back to work!” 

The rest of the class went by quietly. Crews were working on some last-minute things, especially the big table that had yet to be constructed. Props and set decided to work together on that so they could finish it in time. 

However, it wouldn’t be a proper class period with Seungmin and Minho at least annoying each other. The two stayed on stage to run their lines and blocking. It was entirely their choice but Changbin wasn’t complaining. 

During a scene change, Seungmin decided to shove Minho back by the shoulders before sticking his tongue out at him. Minho couldn’t respond how he wanted to, considering he needed to start the next set of lines.

Jeongin was able to stop by during the last fifteen minutes to get a feel for some of the transitions Changbin wanted to do. Jisung, Hyunjin, Seungmin, and Minho enjoyed messing around with the lights and shadows cast on stage. Scaring each other or making bad shadow puppets brought out the rest of the crew to play charades, but with shadows. 

When the bell rang to leave, Jeongin darted out of the auditorium and into the stairwell. He didn’t want to go to a tutoring session, but he didn’t want to go home quite yet either. Some days it’s nice to have some peace in the library. He can’t hide there consistently or they would start kicking him out. So he climbs to the top of the stairwell and chills there while fighting the bad wifi. Jeongin just wants to watch some videos.

When he heard the double doors open from the lower level, he leaned over to take a peek at who had come in.

“ _God_ , why the hell did you shove me on stage?” Minho said. The two were used to standing far too close to be friendly by now. Minho could almost feel Seungmin’s heartbeat through his chest. 

“Gotta keep the directors on their toes,” Seungmin walked into Minho, forcing him to take several steps back. The air is knocked from his lungs when he hits the wall behind him, Seungmin cages him in with his hands next to his head. “Or where would be the fun in class?”

“Fuck you,” Minho whispered before leaning up to kiss the younger. He quickly grabs at Seungmin’s shirt, and yanks it enough that it’s no longer tucked in. Minho places his hands on Seungmin’s bare waist. Seungmin sighed when their lips connected.

This is not what Jeongin expected. He is seeing too much, but it’s perfect blackmail. So as long as it doesn’t go too far, he plans on videoing every second of it.

“Mhm, is that a request?” Seungmin said teasingly, smirking into the kiss before slipping his tongue into Minho’s mouth. The older tugs him closer and slots a leg between his thighs. 

“Depends.” Minho laughed when he pulled away from the kiss, his lips cherry red and glossy. Minho surged forward and started kissing Seungmin’s neck, sucking dark marks into the skin wherever he chose. Seungmin kept a hand on the wall while the other was in Minho’s back pocket. Seungmin wanted to keep from grinding against Minho’s thigh, but it was nearly impossible with how much Minho was moving around. 

Jeongin was thankful earbuds existed, he really didn’t want to hear the moaning he could _see_ happening. 

“Keep moving around like that and we might have to take this elsewhere,” Seungmin said before stepping away from Minho. The shorter tumbling forward since he was leaning on him. “But, we need to go. I think the teachers that are tutoring let out soon.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Get the hell out of my way,” Minho said, shoving by Seungmin to grab his bookbag and leaving through the back entrance in the stairwell quietly. He watched Minho jog down the steps and begin walking home. 

Jeongin figured nothing was settled between them. Seeing the quick shift from them making out to Minho shoving him proved they weren’t friends. He thinks it could be a friends with benefits type situation, but make it enemies instead.

Seungmin remained in place for a few minutes. He slid down the wall to have a seat on the floor, scrolling through social media to pass the time. Jeongin assumed he was staying so he didn’t look suspicious leaving so soon after Minho, looking like a mess.

Jeongin grabbed a screenshot of the video he had taken and sent it to Lia. He remembered seeing Lia and Minho talk whenever he was able to visit the auditorium. 

_JEONGIN [15:52]: you know about this?_

_LIA [15:54]: fuck, come to ms. h’s room. I’ll meet you in the hallway_

Jeongin waited for Seungmin to leave before he moved, or else Seungmin might find him. If Seungmin knew someone was watching that, he’d find a way to get revenge. 

Jeongin would rather live to see graduation.

Ms. H’s room wasn’t far from the stairwell, so Jeongin didn’t have to walk for ages until he saw Lia pacing outside the classroom. 

“Ok, what did you see?” Lia asked, expression solemn. She seemed exhausted. Exams were rolling around the time the show would take place, and he knew she was in AP classes. Their exams were even earlier in the semester. Lia was probably studying every free moment she could.

“I videoed it. I saw too much but it’s perfect blackmail.” Jeongin admitted. He handed Lia his phone after he muted the volume so she could see it was a real video. Lia’s face wadded in disgust before shoving the phone back in Jeongin’s hands. 

“Ok, Minho mentioned it but I didn’t think too hard about it. Seeing it though? Terrifying.” 

“Same, but you didn’t have to hear it.” Jeongin pointed out. He laughed when her face paled at the idea of being stuck around that. 

“I’m sorry you had to deal with that,” Lia said, a small smile gracing her lips. It didn’t quite reach her eyes, but Jeongin figured any smile was better than none.

“I’m going to talk to them about it soon. I’ll tell them to work nicely or I leak the video.” Jeongin murmured. Lia gasped at the proposition but seemed to be mulling it over.

“They would probably do anything to keep that video from spreading. I wouldn’t tell anyone else about it until then though.” Lia advised. Her phone chimed with a message from none other than Minho. 

“Oh! Let’s see what he says, I can get him to call. Here, take one.” She handed him one-half of her earbuds, “Be quiet and he’ll never know.” Lia smirked with devious intent before messaging him back. 

A few short seconds later, Minho was calling.

“Hey! What’s up?” Lia asked. 

Jeongin felt a weird rush of adrenaline. He was sitting in on a phone call he wasn’t meant to be a part of, but he isn’t about to miss some details. 

_“So, you know how I told you I kissed Seungmin the other week?”_ Minho leads into the conversation weakly. Lia hummed in confirmation. _“We’ve been making out every day after class since then.”_

Jeongin’s teeth nearly fell out of his head. Did he hear that right?

Lia coughed after almost choking, “You _what_?” 

_“Don’t judge me! It’s complicated.”_ Minho whined. Jeongin could hear some crinkling on Minho’s end of the line. _“Is it weird?”_

“Minho, it’s not _weird_. But it’s unexpected. Does this have something to do with why you hate each other?” Lia asked shyly, hoping to receive an answer.

Silence said more than anything else Minho could say. 

_“I don’t want to talk about it yet. After the show, I’ll talk to him and tell you. I just-”_ Minho sighed deeply, laughing in a way that is hiding something. _“I don’t want to lose this.”_

“You sap, I won’t mention anything. Be careful where you two choose to make out. Someone could see you on campus!” Lia said, sending a teasing glance over to Jeongin. 

_“No one has caught us yet!”_ Jeongin struggled to hold back his laugh. _“Besides, I don’t think anyone would believe it if someone tried to spread rumors.”_

“What if they would get a picture? A video? What would you do?” Lia instigated an answer for Jeongin’s sake. 

_“Honestly, I don’t know.”_

He is no help whatsoever, and _he’s_ half of the kissing party.

“Ok, I need to get back to the classroom to get my stuff. I’ll talk to you later, Minho.” Lia said as she was hanging up the call. The two sat back against the wall in silence. Neither of them knew what to do with the information they received. 

“I’m actually gonna grab my stuff and head home. My brain feels like it’s going to explode.” Lia pushed herself up to her feet and brushed off her jeans. Sitting on the school floor isn’t the best idea, but it never stopped them before.

“Me too. Stay safe, Lia.” Jeongin said. His bag was heavy on his shoulders and he was fighting sleep. 

“You too, Jeongin. I’ll see you tomorrow.” 

\- - -

“Changbin. I’m dying.” Jisung whined while collapsing on his bed. The two decided to sleep over at Jisung’s place so they can plan for the party in peace. Since it was last minute, Changbin hoped that Jisung would have something he could wear for classes tomorrow. 

“Ok, just do that _after_ we plan?” Changbin teased. He walked over and poked Jisung’s cheeks repeatedly until he smiled brightly while slapping Changbin away. 

“You bitch. I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night because I was thinking.”

“About Hyunjin?” 

“I hate that you know me well enough to know that.” Jisung groaned but sat up to face Changbin who decided to perch on the edge of the bed near Jisung. “Could I be reading into things?” 

“Ji, I wish I knew what to say. I do know that he loves spending time with you. He’s very touchy with you in a different way than he is with, say, Jeongin. Try flirting with him a bit and see what happens?” Changbin patted Jisung’s knee as he spoke. Jisung pouted up at Changbin.

“Do I _look_ like the confident one between us?” Jisung said before he chuckled at himself, “I’m hopeless. I might try after the show ends though. Better then than never I guess. I don’t want to be rejected before showtime.” 

“There’s the Jisung I know. Let’s plan a fucking party.” Changbin cheered and pulled out his phone to take notes. 

After a few hours of taking notes, scrapping notes, face-timing Chan against his will, cry breaks for Jisung after thinking about how cute Hyunjin is; they finally had a party plan.

“So. Next Sunday, at Chan’s, around five in the evening, and catering.” Changbin read back. Chan had the biggest place and he didn’t mind hosting the party. He figured getting catering would be the easiest option financially so everyone could pitch in what they could. They can get great catering if they manage to get the teacher in on it.

“Sounds like a solid plan to me. Now pass me my bookbag. It’s time for math.” Jisung sighed. He didn’t like math. He didn’t _need_ this level of math. The only good thing he got out of it was being in class with Hyunjin. 

“I might be able to help since I took that class last year. However, I also could’ve forgotten everything I learned as well. Pick your poison.” Changbin said, offering his weak help. 

“I’ll call Hyunjin instead.”

“So what? You can cry over how cute his laugh is?” 

No one had to know Jisung threw everything in his bag at Changbin while the older was laughing hysterically.

\- - -

The next day, Jeongin decided it would be the perfect time to corner Minho and Seungmin. 

The class was beginning to get a bit stressful based on the many texts from Lia and Hyunjin during his last class. Jeongin was only able to skip out on the last 15 minutes because the teachers worked out an arrangement. As long as Jeongin did well on his work he was free to continue helping the show. 

When he gets there, he’s not sure what he’s walked in on. 

Changbin, Jisung, Seungmin, and Minho were all yelling. He sees Seungmin and Minho being held apart by a few people. Hyunjin was standing out of the chaos but watching.

“I’m so fucking _tired_ of you two. How damn selfish and narcissistic do you have to be to think you aren’t affecting the rest of the crew when you two argue. You were fine! What happened?” Changbin’s voice stood out loud and clear when he spoke over everyone else. The class settled into thick silence, all the crews had come onto the stage to see what was happening.

“He exists and it’s enough to piss me off. We’ve been over this.” Minho barked back. Changbin stalked over and put his face close to Minho’s. He couldn’t back away from Changbin since Chan was holding him. 

“Say it again. Tell me _‘we’ve been over this’_ again. See what the fuck happens.” Changbin rarely resorts to this level of intimidation, but he knows it works.

Jeongin can see the tension rising between the two, but he sees Seungmin and Jisung in a similar position. Seungmin must have said something under his breath and Jisung caught it. 

“Get the hell out of my face.” Minho catches himself before he spits, he didn't want to get suspended. 

“Oh, and if I don’t? You’re being held back. I’m standing here out of my own free will. I can knock your fucking lights out while you're standing there defenseless.”

“Ok! How about we not?” Hyunjin intervened, tired of the arguing. Jeongin watched him snatch Jisung back by his waist and pulled on the back of Changbin’s shirt. Jisung was pressed firmly into Hyunjin’s side where he was nothing but wide eyes and red ears. Hyunjin had his arm wrapped around Changbin’s shoulders as well. He was doing his best to keep them calm.

“You two are better than this. Obviously, Seungmin and Minho aren’t, but I have standards for you two.” Hyunjin said. “Everyone, go ahead and start cleaning up. Seungmin? Sit in the back of house left. Minho, you go sit in the front of house right.” 

Everyone disbursed soon after with no problems. The crews didn’t mind cleaning up early. 

Seungmin and Minho didn’t move, standing there with a smug look. They didn’t think Hyunjin held any real authority over them. 

“You should listen to him. Or I tell the damn teacher to give you a zero for all class participation. You know, fifty-percent of your grade.” Jisung said in a calm tone, but his eyes were fierce. Minho and Seungmin didn’t linger around after that and went to where they were told. 

Jeongin is ready for the show to be over, and he isn’t even in a class with them. 

Changbin, Jisung, and Hyunjin were talking as they moved back to the desk set in front of the stage. Jisung noticed Jeongin standing in the back, and waved him down. 

“You got free entertainment. Praise us, child.” Jisung said as he pulled Jeongin into a suffocating hug. Jeongin had gotten much taller from last year, but that did not stop Jisung from swinging him around in a hug. 

“All I saw was that you successfully staked Hyunjin as your territory,” Jeongin said with a blank expression. Changbin collapsed onto the table in silent laughter while Jisung and Hyunjin were a stuttering mess. 

“Anyway. Let’s play Head’s Up until the bell rings. It’s only like five or so minutes.” Jeongin offered to change the topic. The flushed duo visibility relaxed at the idea and Changbin pulled up the game. 

His phone is the community game phone. Changbin had the most storage and unlimited data. Needless to say, the lesser privileged men appreciated the act of sharing the storage space. When the bell finally rang, Hyunjin had racked up the most points. Jisung was _too_ good at acting out words so it was no longer a fair game when he stood up to play. 

Jeongin kept an eye out for Minho and Seungmin, to see when they leave to go to the stairwell. Because of this, he’s stuck wandering the hallway for a bit. A few of his classmates stop him to talk about the homework they all had. They agreed to work on a question each and send it to the group chat. Sharing is caring, after all. 

His eye never left the door to the stairwell, and when he saw Seungmin pass through the doors he moved a bit closer. After seeing Minho go in? It was all or nothing. He doesn’t want to particularly scare himself again with seeing the two make out, but it would be the most entertaining option. So, he walks slow enough that by the time he gets to the door. He should be golden. 

A quick pep talk to himself and he flung the door open; satisfied to see the two jump apart from each other. Their lips were already dark and swollen. Minho must have a thing for Seungmin’s stomach considering his shirt was untucked again. 

“Hello, dumbasses. I have a proposal.” Jeongin greeted the still shocked duo. “About _this_ actually.” He gestured loosely towards Minho and Seungmin with a scrunched nose. 

“You two work fast, what the fuck? It already smells more like sex than usual.” 

“No, I think we just, like, activated that smell. It's always there. I feel like the smell is just amplified whenever people come in here with sexual intentions.” Minho rambled. That earned a smack to his stomach from Seungmin.

“What do you want?” Seungmin crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against the wall with his shoulder pressed to Minho’s.

“Stop being dicks during class and make hell-week less hellish. Or, I tell people that the sworn theatre enemies are hooking up every day in the stairwell.” Jeongin watched their eyes widen, but regain their composure in an instant. 

“No one would believe it. We hate each other too much.” Minho pointed out. He was right. There was a point where it could be believable that they would do that, but it seemed as if they truly couldn’t be in the other’s presence. 

“Then I’d like to show you this.” 

Jeongin turned his phone towards them after clicking play on the video from yesterday. Seungmin is the first to react, bringing both of his hands behind his neck with a deep sigh. He sat down on the steps right next to him. 

Minho glances between Jeongin and the phone before laughing bitterly. 

“You told Lia you took this, didn’t you? That’s why she asked all those questions?” Minho grilled him, but Jeongin wasn’t going to lie. 

“I was there for the entire call. I didn’t ask her to do that though. I just wanted to see what was going on.” Jeongin said. He still hasn’t gotten a clear answer for it, but he does want to know.

“I’m sorry to break it to you, Jeongin. There’s nothing more happening between us than this.” Minho said tone final. His eyes looked too pained for it to be true. Like it was hurting him to say it out loud.

“Not what it sounded like on the phone, Minho. Not when it sounds like you’ve-”

Minho shoved him back by the chest. It was way too hard and sent Jeongin falling towards the floor. Minho realized a bit too late that he was too forceful. Jeongin’s head narrowly missed the wall on his way down. He didn’t get hurt, but he was going to be sore for a while.

“Minho? What the fuck? He’s built like a leaf, you know better than to be like that.” Seungmin stood up and went to help Jeongin. 

“Like you’re any bigger,” Minho said. Jeongin didn’t miss the brief smirk that graced Seungmin’s lips.

“I think you’d know I am.” 

“Ew. Keep that nonsense out of my hearing range.” Jeongin was disgusted by the connotation but decided not to dwell on it. “I get it. Seriously though, chill out in class and I will delete the video after the last show. Deal?” 

“Deal.” Minho and Seungmin wasted no time in agreeing. Jeongin was a man of his word. They knew he wouldn’t leak the video if they followed his guidelines. 

They had to actually _do_ that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> such fun! jeongin quickly became my favorite character to write based off this chapter alone. he wasn't mean to be as crucial as he is, but it happened anyway. we are nearing the end of the fic, so I would love to hear your opinions on what you think is happening between Seungmin and Minho. What's their backstory? 
> 
> but, classes have started. I'm trying to get a feel for how I need to work with my online classes so I have time to write as well. I'll do my best to get the last chapters out in a biweekly fashion, but I can't promise that. I'll update here if something goes on, don't want to leave y'all in the dark. 
> 
> update (9/9/2020): alright, if you've been on stay twt then you probably know whats been happening. i had half of the next chapter drafted out but I've lost motivation after the draining things we have been seeing. I'm going to write a bit every day and get something out soon. i will make sure this damn thing is done before Halloween, but I think I will have to put off my Halloween fic for another year. i have a presentation due 9/27 so that may take up some time, but i will be writing. i will have things come out, but they've already been completed. I'm very sorry for the wait, thank you for your patience. see you all soon!
> 
> [Main Twitter](https://twitter.com/decaf_skzpresso)  
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> [CuriousCat](https://curiouscat.me/skzpresso)


	5. Meet Me By The Apple Tree?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seungmin thinks that’s the first heartbreak he’s felt, but he didn’t know it at the time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess fucking what. i managed to write and rewrite this entire chapter today out of sheer will and with the aid of caffeine. 
> 
> thank you for your patience, please enjoy this roughly edited mess of a chapter.

“Alright, guys. It’s the last show and tomorrow is the party. Let’s end this with a bang! Remember to stay behind tonight to do clean-up.” Changbin said after gathering the whole class on stage before doors open. They sat in a semi-circle around him and Jisung as they gave their last speech of the semester.

“You’ve all been great to work with, even our leads.” Changbin continues, casting a questioning glance at the two who were _willingly_ sitting together. “You all did fantastic yesterday, let’s keep up that energy tonight.”

“You all know the drill by now. Don’t turn the dressing room lights on, stay in the wings if you’re not on stage, black-out scene changes are done by certain people. If I catch one of you slacking on props, your grade will get docked.” Jisung lectured. He had a full list of names that told him who did what and when. Hyunjin was perched next to the curtains as he listened from afar. That had to be the most boring part of his position. He was stuck manning the curtains the entire show.

“That should be it? Doors are about to open. Let’s get to where we need to be and settle down for the show.” Changbin dismissed them without wasting any more time.

The show was smooth sailing. The students enjoyed the reactions they got from the audience. Laughter, gasps, silence, and loud applause to top it all off. Since they wrote it, it was very rewarding for them. During the curtain call, Seungmin may or may not have tripped Minho up which caused him to stumble into his chest. The two parted before bowing and joining the rest of the lineup.

As family and friends filtered out of the auditorium, Hyunjin and Jisung were responsible for scratching up the tape on the stage. The colored tape told them what set pieces needed to go where. The only bad thing about it was that there was _so much tape._ Lia shooed them away after watching them get progressively more frustrated with the tape. She sent them to the back of the house until she could think of something for them to do. They sat in awkward silence next to each other, not even sparing the boy next to him a glace. Jisung had no clue what Hyunjin could be thinking, and it made him nervous.

“Sung? I wanna tell you something.” Hyunjin swallowed hard when Jisung’s attention snapped to him. “Just- let me say all of it before you hit me or run away or something.”

Jisung was confused. Why would he want to hit Hyunjin or run from him? What could he be telling him?

“I like you, Jisung,” Hyunjin started. Jisung’s breath hitched in his throat. “You’re sweet, funny, beautiful, and I love spending time with you. I’m not sure what you feel towards me, but I needed to tell you before I talked myself out of it.” Hyunjin watched Lia tediously pick at the tape, focusing on how she would add the tape to the small ball that was forming so he didn’t have to look at Jisung.

The shorter had different plans. He couldn’t bring himself to speak, his mind was unable to think of anything to say. Jisung traced Hyunjin’s jawline with his fingers, the gentle touch eliciting shivers from Hyunjin. He eventually looked towards Jisung who was now _much_ closer than he was before. Mere centimeters were separating their faces now.

“Can I?” Jisung forced out. All he could focus on was the fact that Hyunjin liked him in return. The boy he’s been crushing on for ages feels the same. Now he desperately wanted to kiss him as he’d been thinking of for the past few months.

Hyunjin answered with a brief nod before gladly closing the distance between them. It was a sweet kiss with playful passion behind it, neither of them caring that it wasn’t a pretty kiss. Their teeth clashed, their noses bumped, and they couldn’t keep back the small whimpers that expressed the overwhelming desire they were feeling.

“Nice to see you two figured things out.” Changbin’s voice cut through their hazy minds. They jumped apart from each other, Jisung almost fell out of his seat. Changbin let out a breathless laugh. “You two are both red, it’s cute. We’re about to do the garbage run, wanna join?”

“Who do you think I am? Of course, we’re coming.” Jisung hopped up from his seat, tugging Hyunjin up by his wrist.

“Alright, love birds. Let’s go.”

The crew hefted trash bag after trash bag into the shopping carts they had in the shop. It was a straight shot from the back exit of the auditorium, to the other end of the school where the dumpster was. No turns, no doors, only open hallways begging to be filled with loud students once again.

“Ok, seniors? You have the carts. Who’s going to run ahead to get the door?” Changbin called out. He saw several hands dart up into the air. “Well, guess we’re going to have to see who runs the fastest then.”

After the group countdown from three and getting all the carts through the door, the students took off. The hallway was long. Almost the length of a football field. Changbin enjoyed seeing the seniors and freshmen the most. Knowing this would be the last run for the seniors, and watching the freshmen experience a fun tradition for the first time always warmed his heart.

However, Seungmin and Minho did catch his eye. They were a bit ahead of him. Not running but they were jogging enough to keep up with the crowd. He noticed them be together more and more often, whether they spoke to each other or not.

“Race you!” Minho slaps Seungmin on the back before taking off. The sudden sting froze Seungmin up before he dashed after him. Maybe Changbin spoke too soon. He was going to miss the seniors that couldn’t be in the show for the last semester. Like Chan.

_Damn,_ He was going to miss him after he graduated.

\- - -

“How the hell did catering beat me here?” Changbin yelled after arriving at Chan’s place. Their place of choice was setting up the food on a large table near the back of the house. Chan had a rather large house, even an in-ground pool. It was too cold to reasonably use it, but it was there anyway. His parents had left for the evening so the cast and crew could enjoy the party on their own.

“That’s because you’re technically late.” Chan pointed out, “But it’s fine. You’re here early. Jisung and Hyunjin coming?”

“Yeah! I think those two are figuring things out between them still, but they should get here in no time.”

“Good. Now go fill those balloons with helium and keep them inside, I don’t want to waste them!” Chan said before shoving Changbin to the tank that was set next to a massive pile of balloons. “We don’t have all day!”

\- - -

It was loud. Seungmin could see some of his crewmates playing twister and trying to sabotage one another, while some of the others were playing poker with candy as poker chips.

Hyunjin and Jisung were leaning against a nearby wall, watching the poker game. They would throw out their recommended plays or try and help the other players cheat. Seungmin found it fitting for those two.

Changbin was sitting alone on the small loveseat near the back sliding glass door. Seungmin thought to go over and keep him company, but Jeongin beat him to it. He flopped onto the couch carelessly and nuzzled against Changbin. The older laughed loudly at his antics, but let Jeongin tuck into his side and fall asleep anyway.

Changbin had invited Jeongin to the party since he was such a big help, the rest of the crew was adamant about it too. It was nice to see those two comfortable and relaxed.

A light tap on Seungmin’s shoulder stunned him before he turned around, not expecting to be faced with Minho.

“Meet me by that big ass apple tree in like, five minutes?” Minho asked, trying to keep his cool but Seungmin could see he was fidgeting with his hands.

Seungmin didn’t have to agree. He could tell him to fuck off and never speak to him again.

He didn’t want to go through that though. One time was enough.

“I’ll be there,” Seungmin said. Minho’s shoulders sagged in relief before briefly nodding up at Seungmin, then darting off into the crowd playing limbo.

Five minutes is a long time when you’re expecting something. It’s like waiting for your food in a microwave; annoying. Seungmin had already been at this party for an hour, but it felt like ten minutes. This five though? Felt like a year.

Lia stopped by the kitchen where he was located to grab some more drinks for her friends.

“I saw Minho talk to you. You two trying to work things out?” She asked, recounting the drinks in her hands as well.

“Maybe. I hope so if I’m being honest.”

“Good luck, Seungmin!” Lia said before spinning on her heels and be greeted by her friends once more.

He decides to make his way to the tree when he can’t stand counting minutes anymore; he made it to four. Minho was already there, and it was empty. All the students were inside since it’s rather cold.

Minho stares at him as he approaches. His unwavering eye contact threw Seungmin’s mind into a whirlwind of thoughts. He stops in front of Minho, much closer than he would with anyone else.

“I’m tired of how this relationship between us is. It’s exhausting and I should’ve fixed it earlier, but I was scared.” Minho said, finally breaking eye contact and pulling his lip between his teeth.

“Scared? Why?” Seungmin asked.

“It’s embarrassing, Min,” Minho said, eyes widening after he let the nickname fall from his lips.

“I don’t think it can be but so embarrassing.” Seungmin tried to reassure him, petting the top of his head softly. It was foreign for them both, but Minho seemed to calm down.

“I’ve liked you for six years, Seungmin.” Minho blurted out. “Ever since that lame birthday party in middle school.”

Seungmin can’t form a very coherent thought, opting to remember what happened in middle school.

+++

Seungmin thinks it was some classmate’s birthday that day, but he was forced to go by Minho. His _friend_ at the time. They weren’t best friends, but they were close enough to hang out after school. They tended to be in most classes together, so the friendship was easy for them. The party was small, but the parents were outside grilling while the kids stayed inside to play games.

“Let’s play truth or dare!” Someone said. Seungmin can’t remember if it was Ryujin or Yeosang. Either of them would be likely to start such a game.

It started smoothly, Seungmin can’t remember anything of interest until his name was finally called out.

“Seungmin!” A classmate asked, “Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” He was getting bored.

“I dare you to play Seven Minutes in Heaven with _Lee Minho._ ”

The circle went completely silent, they hadn’t stepped into that territory yet. Other dares had been pure, to a certain extent. The game always forced tension between people, and Seungmin wasn’t sure what he would feel when shoved in a closet with his friend.

They were lead to a small area that was pretty cluttered, but there was enough space for the two of them if they stood chest to chest.

“I’ll knock on the door when times up. That way if you two are doing something, I don’t have to see it.” Seungmin was pretty certain it was Renjun that leads him to the closet. It must have been _his_ birthday then. “Have fun!”

The door shut and then Seungmin’s heart began to race. He hoped Minho wouldn’t be able to tell, but it was useless. He could feel Minho’s heart racing too. They were still a similar height at this time, so neither of them had to crane their neck to see each other.

Minho’s eyes flicked up to meet Seungmin’s, and Seungmin thinks his heart _stopped._

Is it normal to think your friend is ridiculously pretty? And notice that their lips look soft?

Seungmin knows it isn’t.

He wishes he would’ve gone against the voice in the back of his head telling him to _kiss Minho._

Seungmin had without a second thought and pressed his lips against Minho’s with softness. Seungmin remembers this all too well, he could still feel it. Minho was still for a moment but rushed to returned the hesitant kiss. It was awkward. Neither of them knew if they liked it but they kept kissing. Seungmin hugged Minho against his chest more, making it a bit less clumsy now that his hands were doing something.

Minho brought shaking hands up to cup Seungmin’s cheeks, he could hardly feel it. The innocent kiss felt a bit more natural now, less learning, and more enjoying.

Knocking on the door caused them to part after who knows how long. They return to the circle and finished the game, no one spoke to them about it. A few people exchanged glances, but Seungmin was thankful they moved on quickly. He wasn’t sure he could take being interrogated about it. He had to sort out his thoughts and feelings.

Seungmin, later on, went to speak to Minho, but it turns out he decided to leave early.

It was from then on out that Minho started to get short with him. It wasn’t terrible at first, but he would get frustrated at Seungmin for small things. Like stealing his pencils whenever he used to not care. Surprise hugs at school made Minho struggle away, looking at Seungmin with surprised displeasure. The students around them started to gossip, trying to figure out the most elaborate story they could.

It hurt Seungmin but he wanted to fix whatever caused this to happen. Did Minho hate him because of the kiss? The thought never left Seungmin’s mind.

_(It didn’t leave for the next six years, either.)_

They argued and fought every day in class until they finally had enough. Shoving each other and crying after school one day caused what little relationship they had left to crumble apart. The friendship wasn’t worth keeping anymore. Not when they couldn’t treat each other well.

Seungmin thinks that’s the first heartbreak he’s felt, but he didn’t know it at the time.

+++

“I thought you _hated_ me for kissing you! I felt so bad about it and I lost a friend through it.” Seungmin’s volume was beginning to rise, but Minho laced his arms around his waist. Seungmin relaxed before he knew it. Minho’s aura was always warm. Seungmin tried to ignore the way his stomach twisted at the cute smile on the face of the shorter. It caused his cheeks to puff up slightly, but Seungmin resisted saying anything about it.

“I know. I should’ve talked to you about it then, but I’m talking about it now. Fashionably late, you could say.” Minho laughed at Seungmin’s huff, but he looped his arms around Minho’s neck anyway.

“I was scared because I didn’t know I liked guys at the time. Kissing you felt like a rush I hadn’t experienced before, and it confused me. I was falling for my male friend when I thought I was straight. It took so long to come to terms with my sexuality, but when I did, I realized how much I fucked up running away from it all.” Minho said. His eyes scanned Seungmin’s face repeatedly. Seungmin wasn’t sure what he was looking for, but he kept the conversation going.

“I guess I get it. I never really fit a label, just liked whoever I liked at the time. I wish you would’ve at least cut our friendship off instead of trying to burn bridges.” Seungmin leaned in closer to Minho’s face.

Their noses were brushing and Seungmin knew Minho’s heart was racing too. Minho was not so subtly staring at Seungmin’s lips before the taller decided to close the distance between them.

Soft and see, like the first kiss they shared. It was hopefully the start of a new beginning for them. Neither of them attempted to deepen the kiss. They were simply enjoying being able to kiss the other without negativity.

Minho smiled into the kiss multiple times, and Seungmin was struggling not to as well. Seungmin brushed his fingers through Minho’s hair repeatedly, earning a satisfied hum from the older. Seungmin’s lungs were burning but he was too lost in the feeling of Minho’s lips on his to care.

Minho pulled away first. His eyes were glittering as they often did when he was happy.

“We can try going on dates if you want?” Seungmin proposed, figuring it would be a good way to rekindle the friendship while still indulging their craving for the more intimate things.

“That’d be nice. Thank you for hearing me out.” Minho pulled Seungmin into a proper hug, hooking his chin over Seungmin’s shoulder.

“I always did.” Seungmin tightened his hold on Minho, determined not to let him leave again.

Neither of them noticed Chan in the nearby window, checking on them now and then since they went out there. He shoved away other nosy students to give them a bit of privacy, but he was still worried a fight could’ve broken out. He was pleased when he saw it was romantic instead. It gave him hope in their relationship.

Changbin hadn’t moved from his spot with Jeongin, the younger one had yet to wake up. He was hungry, but he wasn’t about to wake him up when he was comfortable. Jisung must have noticed him staring at the food with a longing gaze and had mercy on him. Jisung brought over a full plate of food that he knew Changbin enjoyed. A wink from Jisung after looking at him and Jeongin made him flustered. Jisung was seeing something that wasn’t there, right?

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> alrighty, this hasn't been looked through but so carefully and I apologize. its also a little shorter than my other chapters. i got four different fics confused when looking for a detail and when I found it I realized it was not in this universe. so I wasted some time there. anyway, thank you for waiting! we only have one more chapter left! so look forward to actually cute 2min moments in the next chapter.
> 
> update (10/01/2020): HI YALL I JUST MOVED INTO MY NEW HOUSE! i’m aiming to have the last chapter out by next weekend (no later than the 11th) so if i get off schedule i’ll update again! thank you for your patience!! i appreciate it more than you know!!
> 
> [main twt](https://twitter.com/decaf_skzpresso)  
> [writing account](https://twitter.com/skzpresso)


	6. When The Hell Did This Happen?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What the actual fuck am I seeing? Am I high?”
> 
> They could see Changbin at the end of the curtain, maybe two or three feet from them, with his jaw hanging open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end! It's here!!!! I'll get all sappy in the ending notes but enjoy the shortest chapter with the most fluff in it! Thank you so much for sticking around despite my inconsistent updates.

“The show was fucking  _ amazing  _ everyone!” Jisung yelled at the next class meeting. “We made an amazing profit so next semester’s show is most likely fully funded off of ticket sales alone!”

At that, the entire crew cheered. It was hard to keep the arts programs well funded, so it usually came directly from the audience and anyone willing to pitch it. It surely didn’t come from the school’s pocket. Students in the programs tended to have  _ some  _ animosity towards the sports, but never the team themselves. It was just exhausting. 

“Now that the show is over, it’s time for cleaning and organizing. We have about two weeks to do that.” Changbin began, “We need to disassemble some set pieces and things like that. Stay with your crews for now, and in the next few days we can all come together to finish things up!” 

The crew, once again, cheered in response. Changbin never found cleaning  _ fun,  _ but it always set a good foundation for the next show.

“Seungmin and Minho, you two can go to whatever crews you want since you were floaters, and Jeongin isn’t here to save you from your responsibilities,” Hyunjin added. Jeongin had to remain in class since he wasn’t  _ needed  _ for cleaning, but the crew missed him nonetheless. They had all grown accustomed to the quick-witted freshman. Changbin recalls hearing some of the crew members talk about encouraging Jeongin to join theatre. It wasn’t a bad idea. 

“Alright! Go clean!” Changbin dismissed the meeting with a few claps, smiling at the crew softly.

Minho had been sitting in front of Seungmin, totally ignoring all the quick touches on his neck from the younger. When they were dismissed, Seungmined grabbed Minho’s wrist and tugged him backstage before anyone spotted them.

There was a small pathway behind the back curtain that was used during shows to move between wings. No one ever used it during classes, so Seungmin leads them there. He wanted some time alone with Minho after not seeing him since the party. It hasn’t been long, but it was long enough in Seungmin’s hormone filled brain.

“You look nice today,” Seungmin admitted quietly, “Do you want to come over to my place tonight?” 

“ _ Oh,  _ how scandalous!” Minho teased, enjoying the peachy pink painting Seungmin’s cheeks. “I’d like that though. We can walk?”

Minho stepped forward and linked his arms around Seungmin’s neck, pulling him down to brush their noses together. Seungmin chuckled at the fluttery feeling that rose in his stomach.

“Of course, I highly doubt Hyunjin would like to drive us there.” Seungmin laughed, imagining how cranky his friend would get at having to deal with another person in his car. Especially driving around a couple.

“I doubt he’d like to deal with what I plan on doing next,” Minho winked at Seungmin. He could feel the shiver run down Seungmin’s back more than he could see it. Minho enjoyed these responses. 

“Please show me your plan then,” A smirk pulled at the corner of Seungmin’s mouth, he already knew what Minho wanted. 

Minho leaned in to close the last bit of space between them. Seungmin’s hands traveled up slowly from Minho’s hips, pressing against his stomach firmly and following the curves of his body until he reached the older’s face. He cupped Minho’s cheeks between his hands to push into the kiss deeper. 

Seungmin never grew tired of the way their lips fit together, and the slow drag of Minho’s tongue across his lips. He could taste the vanilla lip balm Minho opted to wear today on his own tongue. 

Minho’s habit of whimpering into a kiss melted Seungmin in the best ways imaginable. It would put too many scenarios into his head, but he loved knowing the older enjoyed their kisses as much as he did. Seungmin wasn’t sure how much longer he could stand  _ only kissing  _ Minho. 

That was a conversation for later.

Seungmin couldn’t help his sigh when Minho pressed him against the wall to push their bodies together more tightly. Seungmin doesn’t want to believe he denied himself of Minho for so long, but maybe it was for the best. He couldn’t imagine something better that he could be doing at this moment. 

“What the actual fuck am I seeing? Am I high?” 

But all good things must come to an end. 

Minho and Seungmin leaned away from each other, their breath still mingling between them. They could see Changbin at the end of the curtain, maybe two or three feet from them, with his jaw hanging open.

“What are you-” Jisung froze when he saw the state of Minho and Seungmin in front of him. 

Swollen, deep red lips coated in saliva, wrinkled shirts fisted between their hands, Minho’s leg slotted between Seungmin’s thighs, and the hazy stare from both of them checked off everything Jisung needed to know. 

“When the fuck did this happen!” He shouted, drawing Hyunjin’s attention as well. When he arrived, he scoffed at the entire situation. 

“Well, At the after-party?” Minho offered sheepishly. 

“Ok, but you two  _ hated  _ each other,” Lia said from the other end of the curtain, startling all there prior. “What happened in your mysterious past that Minho hasn’t told me about?”

“A game of truth or dare gone wrong six years ago,” Seungmin started. “Played seven minutes in heaven, we kissed, and neither of us knew what to do.” 

“I avoided him because I liked him at the time and didn’t want to make things awkward. We only figured things out at the party.” Minho began to laugh bitterly but pressed his lips to Seungmin’s cheek for a split second.

“I had no clue you two knew each other way back then?” Changbin couldn’t wrap his head around the situation just yet. Once he slept on it, it might make more sense.

“Kinda cute though,” Jisung said, earning many confused looks. “It’s cute because you two were able to come together in the end. Maybe now that you two aren’t so snippy with each other, you can enjoy each other’s company.” His sweet words stuck with Seungmin more than the younger would like to admit.

“And each other’s d-” Jisung elbowed his vulgar boyfriend before he could finish his sentence.

“I fucking hate you, Hwang Hyunjin.” 

“You  _ love  _ me.” Hyunjin teased. 

“Maybe I do.” 

Jisung saw many blinks in his direction, and with each one what he said settled in. 

“Pretend you didn’t hear that!” Seungmin could see the blush glowing on Jisung’s entire neck and face, a forced smile trying to hide the worry he was feeling. 

Hyunjin pulled Jisung close to his chest, nuzzling his nose into Jisung’s now silver hair.

“Maybe I love you, too.” 

A chorus of  _ aw’s _ erupted from everyone except Minho. 

“Ok, you two can go kiss elsewhere and leave us alone!” Minho offered a cheery smile that would never give away his selfish intentions of continuing where he left off with Seungmin.

“Um, no? You two have cleaning you need to be doing?” Changbin reminded the pair, walking over to shoo them out of the walkway. “Lia, please watch them and make sure they don’t run away. If they do, feel free to do what you feel is necessary.” 

She shoots him a thumbs up before throwing her arms over the couple’s shoulders, dragging them to her height. 

“You're just bitter because Jeongin isn’t here!” Seungmin watched the director stutter to a halt, unable to return the teasing due to his internal crisis. It seemed like Changbin had some soul searching to do.

Lia slaps both of their shoulders to gain their attention.

“Alrighty, boys. Time to work!”

- - -

“My parents won’t get back until six or later, so we have plenty of time to watch some movies if we want,” Seungmin said, chucking his and Minho’s bag near the front door so they wouldn’t forget it when they left.

“Movies sound great,” Minho whispered, coming up behind Seungmin to hug his waist briefly, “Especially if there are cuddles involved.” 

“Of course there will be cuddles, what do I look like? A monster?” Seungmin tugged Minho over to the large, worn-out couch in Seungmin’s living area. It was beige and covered with bright throw pillows. Seungmin could say it was the most comfortable couch they’d owned over time. 

Much to Minho’s displeasure, Seungmin separated from him to grab the television remote placed on the entertainment console. 

“You’re awfully clingy,” Seungmin said, “Not a bad clingy, but  _ affectionate  _ I think is what I’m looking for.” He stood directly in front of Minho once he had the remote in his hand, admiring the beautiful person before him.

Minho blinked up at Seungmin who has yet to sit down. Minho’s eyes were soft, crinkling up into familiar and uneven crescents that Seungmin has always found charming.

“As I said, it’s been over six years of me pining over you. Of course, I’m going to be affectionate!” Minho grew tired of Seungmin’s distance and dragged him onto the couch beside himself. 

“I’ve wanted to hug you, hold hands, cuddle, kiss you, and all those things that couples do. I didn’t think I was allowed to be selfish and actually get to do all of those things. I want this to work for as long as it can.” Minho toyed with Seungmin’s hands. His own were much smaller than Seungmin’s, making them fit together comfortably.

“I hate that we argued so much over the last few years.” Seungmin shuffled around to tug Minho’s back against his chest, holding onto him tightly. “At least we’ve seen some of the worst of each other.”

A bitter but sad laugh bubbled up Minho’s chest. 

“That’s one way to look at it. I really thought you hated me.” 

“I never did.” Seungmin pressed a gentle and lingering kiss to the top of Minho’s head. He all but melted against Seungmin’s chest, holding onto the arms wrapped around his waist.

Seungmin turned the television on, channel surfing until he found a decent movie. An old animated classic that he hadn’t seen in a while was the best he could find.

“Did you think Hyunjin and Jisung were ever going to figure things out between them?” Minho asked, turning to look up at Seungmin.

“I’m not sure what I thought. They had been awkward around each other, but I don’t think I realized there were feelings involved. I’m oblivious to that type of thing.” Seungmin admitted with a sigh. 

“I’m glad they got together though. I think they’ll be that power couple that everyone tries to live through.” Minho giggled, “Although neither of them will admit that they’re that popular.”

“What do you think of the weirdness between Jeongin and Changbin?” Seungmin asked. He could see Minho’s eyebrows knit together in thought.

“I think there’s  _ something  _ there. Maybe some innocent crush or flat-out pining, but there’s something.” Minho states with confidence. “Knowing those two though? They won’t do a damn thing about it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“You know how they are, all selfless and shit.” Minho waved his hands around to emphasize his nonexistent point. “They don’t want to get in each other’s way or something like that.” 

“You’re not making much sense,” Seungmin says, pressing yet another soft kiss to Minho’s cheek. He enjoyed seeing the blush that followed.

“Whatever,” Minho smacked Seungmin’s thigh before he could try and argue with him, “Just cuddle me so we can watch the movie.”

Seungmin wouldn’t change how their past played out. 

Memories were made for a reason, and he thinks having seen each other’s worst sides will help keep them in a better relationship for longer. Sure, he’s upset knowing they could’ve worked things out sooner, but he can’t change that now. 

He can simply enjoy the time he can now spend with Minho instead of getting caught in the past.

Their relationship had been strange, but Seungmin thinks that he owes Changbin a thank you for shoving them in the dressing room. That was the push they needed to figure things out.

If Seungmin and Minho fell asleep in each other’s hold until Seungmin’s parents returned, then who else has to know?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, my first chaptered fic is completed. It was like my baby. (That I kept forgetting about, but let's not focus on that.)
> 
> This chapter I don't think was the best, but I wasn't pleased with any of the endings I had come up with. So I think this is more like an epilogue, especially since it's short.
> 
> I struggled to stay motivated with this one, I'm not going to lie. I loved the concept, the characters, the writing itself; but it was so difficult to write for some reason. Maybe it was the fact that it was chaptered and I was intimidated by it. Who knows.
> 
> Anyway, thank you so much to everyone who read until the end, to those who left comments, to those who left kudos, or anything else! It kept me motivated when I felt like no one wanted to read my stuff anymore. (I've been struggling with my writing confidence lately, but I feel it's obvious with how basic my style has become.)
> 
> Please keep an eye out for other works before the end of this year! I have ongoing twt au's as well so feel free to check those out as well. Once again, thank you for reading and staying until the end. 
> 
> [Main Twt](https://twitter.com/decaf_skzpresso)  
> [Writing Twt](https://twitter.com/skzpresso)

**Author's Note:**

> Definitions for random terms used in the fic! My class used these terms in the stated ways, and I cross-referenced with some other definitions to find the simplest but most well-known explanations for the terms! Terms will be added if any I don't list are confusing or I wind up adding more throughout.
> 
> 1.) Prompt book - a printed script (in our case, pasted into a notebook) that’s been annotated  
> 2.) Stage Left/Left-Wing- when standing on stage, the stage area off to your left (off-stage being wing)  
> 3.) Stage Right/Right-Wing - when standing on stage, the stage area off to your right (off-stage being wing)  
> 4.) House Left - When sitting in the audience, the left region of the stage  
> 5.) House Right - When sitting in the audience, the right region of the stage  
> 6.) House Lights - Are the lights within the audience area.  
> 7.) Lights Up - A cue used to signal when the stages lights would come on during rehearsal, scene starter  
> 8.) Lights Out - When the stage lights go dark  
> 9.) Set Crew - Responsible for bringing the settings to life  
> 10.) Props Crew - Works with Set and Costumes, they are responsible for everything that can’t be anchored down onto a set piece or attached to a costume.  
> 11.) Costume Crew - Responsible for costumes  
> 12.) Techies (Technicians) - Are solely crew members that work on scene changes, must be dressed in all black so during open curtain scene changes, they are less noticeable.  
> 13.) Line Test - A test given to the actors where they must perform their scene without the aid of their prompt book.  
> 14.) Hell Week - The week leading up to the first performance. Evening long rehearsals in which the show is run through in full. In this case, it follows my old teacher’s way. Must run the show two times through. A dinner break is between the two run-throughs. Often lasts about four hours.  
> 15.) Floaters - These are actors that are on stage for more than 75% of the show, and can’t technically work in a crew. So when they are off stage during rehearsals, they help out their assigned crews when needed.  
> 16.) Blocking - stage ‘choreography’ simply put. Where an actor stands, interacts with, or moves to something during their lines. Very hard for me to describe.  
> 17.) “Line” - when doing a line test, or practice run of the play, and need one of your lines to be read off. Each time a line is fed there are points deducted  
> 18.) Projecting - speaking loudly, but not yelling. A big difference that was hard for me to understand at first.  
> 19.) Upstage - close to or at the back of the stage.  
> 20.) Downstage - toward or close to the front of the stage.


End file.
